


No Fool

by Tani



Category: Naruto
Genre: Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-04-06
Updated: 2007-04-06
Packaged: 2017-10-13 04:45:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/133076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tani/pseuds/Tani
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Akimichi Chouji is no fool.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Fool

**Author's Note:**

> This was written in response to a prompt on 15minuteficlets on livejournal. Please be kind and judge it accordingly. Also, it is set following what I think of as the Shikamaru is Bad-ass Arc. If you don't know what this means, you may not want to read this, as although it's not particularly spoilery, it may not make much sense to you.

Akimichi Chouji was no fool. He knew everyone thought he was: barbeque-eating, fatty, incompetent ninja...Yes, that was what they thought. Only Shikamaru might have known otherwise, and even then, Chouji wondered. The way he was acting now, for example. Everyone else thought he was fine. He was back at work. Sometimes he smiled. Even less often, he laughed. He wasn’t self-destructing and he wasn’t making a scene. Clearly that was enough for some people.

Not for Chouji. He knew Shikamaru and Shikamaru should know him. They had been friends for years, and he knew that this wasn’t the Shikamaru that was his friend. This was some other Shikamaru, one that looked very much like him, but wasn’t actually him. He was an evil twin. A clone, maybe. Anyone but the Shikamaru that was Chouji’s best friend in the entire world. This whole scene only confirmed his suspicions.

“I’m kind of busy today, Chouji. Sorry,” Shikamaru said, even though they both knew he was anything but. Still, Chouji attempted to reason with him.

“Shikamaru, you haven’t been doing anything except work for the past several weeks. You must need a break by now.”

Shikamaru looked down at the paper he was working on grading - an essay written by some little brat that Shikamaru was teaching today as the substitute for a very sick Iruka-sensei. Chouji wanted to rip the paper out of his hands and crumple it into a ball. Instead, he very calmly reached down and took the entire stack away from him. Shikamaru looked up at that, annoyance plain on his face.

“Chouji. I was grading those.”

Chouji nodded. “I can see that. But now you’re going to come with me.” Carefully placing the papers on a desk off to the side, Chouji walked around the desk and pulled Shikamaru out of his chair. Shikamaru was tense and clearly unhappy, but he didn’t resist as much as he could have, so Chouji knew that he wasn’t stepping over any forbidden lines.

“Chouji, I really need-“

”No, you don’t,” Chouji said, continuing to pull his friend toward the door.

“But, the kids-“

”Have all already gone home for the day.”

“The essays-“

”Will still be here when you get back.”

“The Hokage-“

”Probably knows more than anyone that what you need right now is not more work, but a break.”

They were almost to the door now, and although Shikamaru still wasn’t seriously resisting, he hadn’t relented either. It was slightly annoying, and Chouji considered just picking him up and throwing him over his shoulder until they got where they were going. Shikamaru may have grown since he was 13, but Chouji had always been the steadier on his feet between them. Maybe Shikamaru had forgotten that, but now it was time to remind him. No matter what Shikamaru thought he wanted or needed, Chouji knew the truth, and someday soon, Shikamaru - the real Shikamaru - would be grateful.


End file.
